Friday, the 12th, Robyn asked me to take her to the fair. She was to meet up with some girlfriends from high school that she hasn't seen in a while. In the meantime, I wanted to check out our display from work at the All Things Concrete house, as well as visit my brother who was working a booth in the Varied Industries building. She asked that I hang with her until her friends got there. It's a good thing we have cell phones because the crowd was enormous and finding her friends would have been impossible. Look at this crowd...
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| I think that's them, toward the back middle, in the white shirt |
Robyn and I walked the midway, being pestered by a few carnies along the way, and we noticed the incredible number of teen-agers there. As we walked onto main street (pictured above) where the beer is served, we noticed the large number of twenty somethings there. When we moved into the Varied Industries Building, where all the wares are sold, we noticed the people more our age. It's no wonder they draw over a million people a year to the fair, there's something for everyone. As for me and Robyn, it is the funnel cake that makes us go to the fair. Yummm. We stopped at one of the bars and ordered a beer.
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| Cheers! |
A couple of hours passed and her girlfriends hadn't gotten there yet, so we decided to head home. Here is a helpful hint if you ever go to the Iowa State fair. After you park and start walking toward the main gate, take a moment to look back so you remember where you parked. We didn't have to look too long but there was some confusion as to who's yard we parked in. Everyone in the neighborhood turns their yard into a parking lot at fairtime. I think we may do that next time there is a neighborhood garage sale in our area.
Saturday morning I had an invitation to golf with some friends from our small group. Now they can actually golf so I'm not sure why I was asked to play (comic relief?) but even though I stink at the game, I love being out there. Here is a pic of Keith blasting one out of the sand. He put it with-in a few feet of the cup.
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| Who dosen't love a beach party? |
I shot a 109. In my defense, it is the longest, most difficult course around and I did have two birdie shots. I didn't make them but I did, at one point, sink four LONG putts in a row (one was paced off at thirty feet) and had three pars in a row and four out of five to boot. I also hit two water hazards and a sand trap. Luckily, I skipped out of one pond and bounced out of the sand trap. On top of that I startled a large snake when I reached for the ball next to the water. This snake was big enough to make me jump back. As a matter of fact I may have pee'd a little.
While I was out having fun Robyn was taking Calvin to the vet. No emergency, he was due for shots and a heart worm test. Here he is posing with his new wristband.
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| He thinks red is his color |
That evening, Robyn and I had a game night planned with some friends. Robyn wasn't feeling well, she was bothered with flu like symptons for over a week, so I headed over by myself. After a nice dinner we decided to play some yard games. Someone actually had a set of lawn darts, the old ones with steel tips. These have been banned for over two decades. I know the reason why. When I was younger, my siblings and I, along with the neighborhood kids, would play lawn darts, with our own rules. In our game you had to stand inside the circle while your opponent tried to stick a dart in your circle. If you jumped out of the circle before the dart landed you lost. We called it death darts. I think we quit playing when my brother took a dart to the top of his foot. I couldn't talk this group into playing death darts. I guess wisdom does come with age.
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| The circle looks much smaller now |
Sunday, after church, I tried to get my hot tub working. It has been on the fritz since last fall. After two agonizing hours and a whole lot of head scratching, I closed the access panel and started researching used hot tubs. I may have found a source that refurbishes old tubs and buys used ones. I will let you know if we take this route. We really miss our hot tub, we used it all year round. There is nothing like tubbing under the stars or being in the hot tub when it is snowing.
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| Don't tell me it's not rocket science. This is a UFO |
When I was at the fair, we stopped by a booth called the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt. I entered my name in their computer and found out that I had some unclaimed money out there. So Monday night I filled out the forms and mailed them in.
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| Every penny counts |
I went to the websight and found out that one of my brothers, one of my sisters and my mom all had money waiting to be claimed. I felt like Santa Clause when I called and informed them. It's good to give, even if it was theirs to begin with.
I had to tend bar Monday night to cover for the regular bartender, but I was able to watch Monday Night Football.
Tuesday, Robyn was still under the weather so I was responsible for my own dinner..
After my awesome dinner I went to the shop to finish up the drawer boxes for my side job.
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| Not nutritious, but colorful |
Wednesday I had to tend bar again.
Thursday at work we began another large project. This is a kitchen with almost 100 square feet of countertop. This one is in Gravity Iowa. My boss says the people there are really down to earth.. I will give you a few seconds... OK, ..down to earth.. Gravity.. get it? Well I never said my boss was funny.
Friday after work I went and Installed the cabinets I have been making. I will install the doors and drawer faces next week.
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| perfect fit |
Sunday was back to church. My friend who is struggling so much is still in need of a meeting with Pastor Tom. When we had our last scheduled meeting, he asked if we could use that time to move some of his belonging to a secure place. There is a lot more to the story but sufice it to say that his troubles trump anything I face. Here it is more than a week later and I still need to make this meeting happen. I did talk on the phone to him today and he sounds better but he focuses on his problems and that only seems to magnify them. I told him I will work on arranging a get together for him but in the meantime I asked him to read and meditate on Philippians 4:6-9. The very same verse read by Michelle Bachmann at church a couple weeks earlier. It can truely lift your burden if you seek Him with your heart..
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and recieved from me - everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Or you can feel better like Robyn did this afternoon..
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| in her element |
She is feeling better. I feel better by viewing God's beauty all around me.
